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The purpose of this paper is to develop efficient heuristics for determining the route design and inventory management of inbound parts which are delivered for manufacturing, assembly, or distribution operations and for which there is limited storage space. The shipment frequencies and quantities are coordinated with the available storage space and the vehicle capacities.

Two heuristics that generate near optimal solutions are proposed. The first heuristic has an iterative routing phase that maximizes the savings realized by grouping suppliers together into routes without considering the storage constraint and then calculates the pickup frequencies in the second phase to accommodate the storage constraint. The second heuristic iteratively executes a routing and a pickup frequency phase that both account for the storage constraint. A lower bound is also developed as a benchmark for the heuristic solutions.

Near optimal solutions can be obtained in a reasonable amount of time by utilizing information about the amount of storage space in the route design process.

The traditional emphasis on high vehicle utilization in transportation management can lead to inefficient logistics operations by carrying excess inventory or by using longer, less efficient routes. Route formation and pickup quantities at the suppliers are simultaneously considered, as both are important from a logistics standpoint and are interrelated decisions.

The two proposed heuristics dynamically define seed sets such that the solutions to the capacitated concentrator location problem (CCLP) are accurately estimated. This increased accuracy helps in generating near‐optimal solutions in a practical amount of computing time.

A long-standing question is how group perception, which is the perception of a whole group, becomes an exaggerated perception of the individuals who comprise the group. The question receives scant attention within computer-mediated communication (CMC), which is increasingly a communication mode for groups and a research tool to study groups. I address this gap by examining bias in group perception when rating copresence, which is the sense of being together, with the group.

I model bias as occurring when perceivers differentially weigh ratings of individual group members on a variable while rating the whole group on the same variable. I analyzed how the degree of bias in participants’ ratings of copresence with a status-differentiated group varied by the availability of visual cues during CMC in an experiment. I also examined how the group’s status hierarchy impacted bias.

Bias increase as the availability of visual cues decreased and ratings of middle status members were weighed more in group perception than ratings of other members.

Middle status was based on possessing inconsistent statuses. Inconsistency, and not status position, may have rendered these members more salient than others.

Interventions that target group perception may benefit from targeting the group’s middle status members. Researchers and practitioners can minimize bias in group perception through increasing the availability of visual cues in CMC.

The findings illustrate the underpinnings of copresence with an entire group. This is important because copresence shapes several group processes during CMC.

This paper aims to describe the storage constrained, inbound inventory routeing problem and presents bounds and heuristics for solutions to this problem. It also seeks to analyze various characteristics of this problem by comparing the solutions generated by the two proposed heuristics with each other and with the lower bound solutions.

The proposed heuristics use a sequential decomposition strategy for generating solutions for this problem. These heuristics are evaluated on a set of problem instances which are based on an actual application in the automotive manufacturing industry.

The storage space clearly has a significant effect on both the routeing and inventory decisions, and there are complex and interesting interactions between the problem factors and performance measures.

Facility design decisions for the storage of inbound materials should carefully consider the impact of storage space on transportation and logistics costs.

This problem occurs in a number of different industrial applications while most of the existing literature addresses outbound distribution. Other papers that address similar problems do not consider all of the practical constraints in the problem or do not adequately benchmark and analyze their proposed solutions.

This case presents some of the entrepreneurial challenges faced by a female leader in the technology sector who conceived a new product based on her passion to help others especially those most disadvantaged.

Upon completion of this case study, students should be able to prepare supply chain and distribution analysis that considers ethics and sustainability, integrate philanthropic efforts as part of an organizational strategy and recognize strategies to promote equity within and beyond an organization.

Connie Stacey (she/her) is an entrepreneur and president of Growing Greener Innovations, an award-winning battery energy storage company based in Alberta, Canada, with a mission to end energy poverty globally. With the emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic in 2020, Stacey turned her attention to an innovation called Project Rescue, a ventilator that uses non-identifying patient vitals to track data. It serves as a pandemic early warning system, addressing two key challenges: pandemic data are prone to error, and real-time information is non-existent after the pandemic has spread. This new product was conceived based on her passion to help others, especially those most disadvantaged. This multi-faceted case focuses on the many challenges that Stacey and her team needed to address. The dilemma in this case centres on establishing supply chains amid a pandemic, as well as prioritizing the corporate social responsibility elements of philanthropy and equity within her organization (and beyond).

This case is appropriate for third- or fourth-year undergraduate or graduate-level students.

In addition to “call out boxes” throughout the case and teaching note, additional readings/links/videos are outlined below. (These supplementary materials, “Teaching Tips”, are included in the teaching notes as well.)

CCS 11: Strategy.

This paper aims to examine the importance of celebrity brands in influencing consumer perceptions of celebrity authenticity, which drives positive consumer attitudes and intentions. In addition, the notion of low-celebrity investment is investigated as a factor that diminishes the positive outcomes associated with celebrity brands.

Study 1 examines the effect of brand situation (endorsement versus celebrity brand) on consumer attitudes and intentions. Studies 2 and 3 investigate the role of celebrity authenticity in explaining the effects observed in Study 1. Study 4 examines celebrity investment as a bound of the phenomenon.

Study 1 demonstrates that consumers report heightened attitudes and intentions towards celebrity brands when compared to endorsements. Studies 2 and 3 provide evidence that authenticity explains the effects observed in Study 1. Results of Study 4 show that when consumers are aware of low-celebrity investment, the celebrity is viewed as inauthentic regardless of brand situation.

This research is limited as it focuses only on known celebrity endorsers who were matched with products that had a high level of fit. In addition, purchase intentions were measured as opposed to the study of actual purchase behaviour.

This research has important implications for the development of endorsements and celebrity brands by demonstrating that consumers view celebrities as authentic when they are involved with brands for reasons other than monetary compensation.

This research shows that consumers have heightened attitudes and intentions towards celebrity brands compared to endorsements. This research identifies celebrity authenticity as the process underlying the observed phenomenon. However, celebrity investment is identified as a boundary condition demonstrating that knowledge of low investment results in a celebrity being viewed as inauthentic.